Toronto Maple Leafs defeat the St. Louis Blues behind the play of Auston Matthews

NEW DELHI: On Monday afternoon, Auston Matthews scored his 49th goal and added an assist to help the Toronto Maple Leafs defeat the St. Louis Blues 4-2. This maintained his incredible goal-scoring season.

The Maple Leafs also had goals from Matthew Knies, William Nylander, and Bobby McMann. Mitch Marner had three assists in the game, which was Toronto’s fourth straight.

Ilya Samsonov held his ground in goal, making 19 stops to give the Maple Leafs the victory.

The Blues, who had lost three of their previous four games, were led by Pavel Buchnevich and Brandon Saad in scoring. Joel Hofer, the team’s goalkeeper, had a strong outing, making 25 saves.
Both sides managed only 12 attempts on goal in the first session as the game started with a defensive struggle. One clear-cut chance to score was presented to each team; Matthews missed his opportunity and Samsonov denied Jordan Kyrou at the opposite end.

Early in the second half, Toronto took the lead when Knies broke through the Blues defense 22 seconds in by scoring on a ball from Matthews.
Late in the second period, Saad scored on a power play to knot the score at one for the Blues.

Nylander’s short-handed goal halfway through the third period gave the Maple Leafs more breathing room after Matthews’ power-play goal gave Toronto the lead back early in the frame.
Late in the game, Buchnevich gave the Blues a response after the goalie was substituted for an additional attacker, but McMann’s empty-net goal gave Toronto the win.